Life preserver



Oct. 27 1925.

4 w. E. ABBOTT Lira rnzsnavsa Original. Filed Aug. 22, 1923 PatentedOct. 27, 1925.

UNITED STATES" PATENTAFOFFICE.

WILLIAM E. ABBOTT, OF PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOB, OF ONE-FO-URTH TODENNISON. F. REASE, OF SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA, AND ONE-FOURTH TO K. H.CALDWELL AND ONE-EIGHTH TO LOGAN SMITH, BOTH OF SANTA .CRUZ CALI-FORNIA.

sum rnEsEnvEn;

Application filed August 22, 1923, s r arm'. 658,694. Renewed March 17,1925.

To all "whom it mayco'ncem: j I

Be it known that I, lVILnIA E. ABBOTT, a citizen of the'United States,residing at Pasadena, in the county ofLos Angeles and State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in LifePreservers, of which, the following is a specification. v

This inventionrelates to the general class of life preservers of thetype worn by individuals, and has particular reference to a buoyantpiece of mechanism for individual or personal use either for recreationor pleasure purposes as in bathing or swim ming, for use on shipboard,or for use in connection with water craft for use in lease of accidentor the like. Among'the objectsof the invention is to improve this classof devices with respect to a number of features among which may be notedthe following: Base and simplicity of application to the person;facility for carrying or storage purposes; maximum reliability forsustaining thev wearer with his heador face elevated above the surfaceof the Water irrespective ofthe position of the other parts ofthe'body', maximum freedom for movement of the individualand especiallyhis arms and legs while in the water; practical immunity from loss: oflife as a result of puncturing or other damageto the device while inuse; ease'of adj ustability of the device, making itadaptable to personsof different sizes, and other advantages and purposes that will beapparent as this description progresses.

lVith the foregoing, and other objects in view the invention consists inthe arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described andclaimed, and While the invention is not restricted to the exact detailsof construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose ofillustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to theaccompanyingdrawings, in which like reference characters designate thesame parts in the several views, and in which- Figure 1 is a frontperspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the invention. Fig. 2is a side View of the same. Fig. 3 is a rear'view, j i Fig. 4 is aninside' or front elevation of the device detached and indicating slightmodifications in detail." Fig. 5 is a sectional detail indicating themanner of sealing the casing ends. Referring now more specifically tothe drawings my improved life preserver is shown herein as comprisingtwo buoyant members 10 each of which consists prefera ably of a shell orcover of any suitable but preferably flexible waterproof'or impervionematerial such as rubber or rubberized fabric, or the like, and adaptedto be either inflatable or otherwise 'suitably'filled with lightmaterial for the sake of ,maximum displacement. In the form in whichthisinvention has been made and practised extensively the members 10 areofflexible rubber tubing with the ends hermetically sealed at 11, aresult that may be accomplished in various ways as by theintroduction ofcement or by vulcanization. Whateverthe' means employed for renderingthe ends of the members 10 hermetically sealed there are provided fiatvstrong reinforced end tabs which are utilized for attachment purposesand to provide means for securing the device not only to theperson butwith the two members in proper relation'to each other.

7 For pleasure purposes such as for use at a bathing beach or in aswimming pool it may be preferred that'the members 10'be of simplerubber tubing or the like and adapted to be inflated with air at thetimethe device is 'to, be used. 'Thus the device may be of a collapsiblenature for ease and when deflated. For inflation each member is providedwith a nozzle or nipple 12 which may be located atany convenient place.

For this purpose Figs. 1 and 2 indicate the nozzles located at the sidesof the person and near theends of the members 10. In

Fig. 4, however, the nozzles 12 are indicated as located nearer thecentral portions 10 and within reach of the persons month while thedevice is being worn so that it is possible under certain conditions forthe user of the device to maintain the members suitably inflated whilebeing worn. I wish to emphasize at this time, however, that while forsome purposes the members may be filled. with. air or other suitablebuoyant gas, the spirit. of the invention contemplates the filling ofthe casings with any other suitable bulky and buoyant material such askapok, other vegetable or animal fibrous material, sawdust, corkcomposition, or the like, but in all cases the casings 10 should be ofsuch a nature as to be preserved water-tight and of suflicient strengthfor the purpose intended.

The casings may be, described as being of substantially horseshoe shapewhen inflated or filled and they are designed to be worn by the personwith the central or bend portions directly over his shoulders onopposite sides of. his neck.. The rear portions of the casing aremaintained substantially parallel and in close relationship to eachother along the wearers back or close to his backbone, the rearendsbei'ng anchored close to each. other as by being attached to a waistband. or belt 13,. and atie member 14 is loopedaround the neck orshoulder blade port-ions of the casings and extends across the back ofthe wearers neck. This tie member is in the nature of a strap of anysuitable, durable, preferably non-elastic but flexible material loopedaround the casings sufiicientl'y tightly to make it practically selfretained in position while in use and still capable of adjustmentlongitudinally along the back portions of the casings so as to adapt thedevice to the individual wearer or wearers of different sizes or builds,said tie member, from its structural nature, affording a convenient andreliable hand grip for a child or other individual whom the wearer ofthe life preserver may desire to affordsupport. In all cases practicalfreedom of the persons head and neck will be assured.

The front end portions of the casings are secured in any suitable mannerto the belt adjacent to the endsthereof so that when the belt isattached as by means of a buckle 15 or its. equivalent at the front ofhis body as usual, the front portions of the casings will beapproximately parallel to each other and spaced according to the widthof his neck.

The. attachment means between the cas ing ends 11 and the belt may be-asdesired and to this end I show rivets 16 or stitching 17. Separablefasteners, especially for the front for maximum adjustment along thebelt might be employed but for maximum reliability I recommend the useof permanent fasteners.

When the casings are made of flexible and elastic rubber the ends 11before being sealed are preferably provided with pieces of nonelasticmaterial such as fabric 18 so as to give ample strength for theanchorage of the device. The fabric thus inserted becomes thoroughlyimpregnated with the rubber composition during vulcanization.

The application of the. device: as. shown and described may be effectedreadily by simply passing it over the arms an'd 'shoub ders like a vestand fastening the buckle or its equivalent in front. Because of theclose attachment of the rear portions of the casings to each other allalong theline between the waist band and the neck, the loop portionsofthe casings are retained reliably in place and therefore the onlyattachment means necessary to be depended upon is the buckle at thefront. It will be observed naturally that the position of the lifepreserver as shown causes no obstruction to the arms or any other partof the wearers person or body and so he is free to exert every effortnecessary to reach the land in safety while the buoyancy of the devicewill insure that his face at least will be kept above the surface of thewater irrespective of the position of all other parts of his body in thewater. The device is peculiarly well adapted for the use of bathers andswimmers, especially in enabling one to learn the art of swimming,because of the fact that all the longer lines of the device, that is,those portions along the back and the chest of the wearer, arepractically parallel to one another and the line of progress through thewater, as distinguished from life buoys or life preservers as usuallymade, which are bulky in directions transverse to the direction ofpropulsion. Again, the construction of this improvement with respect toits attachment to the person, adapts it particularly well for the makingof a rescue. For example, a swimmer or other person with the deviceattached as shown may'swim or float for a long time and with a child orother person located upon the swimmers or we-arers back and. holding tothe tie member 14 as a convenient and reliable hand hold. The buoyancyof the device is ample for sustaining several persons in safe position.Furthermore, the fact that two casings 10 are employed adds also to thereliability of the device in practice even though one of them may becomepunctured or disabled while being inflated with air or gas.

I claim:

1. In a life preserver, the combination of a pair of substantiallysimilar buoyant fierible members, adapted to be applied and to fit closeto the wearers. trunk, said members being ofhorseshoe shape with thebends over the Wearers shoulders, a Waist belt,and flexible meanscoacting With the ends of the members and serving to seal the same'andconstitute reinforcing anchorages between the members and the belt.

2. The herein described life preserver comprising a buoyant memberconsisting of a piece of flexible elastic rubber tubing, the ends of thetubing being hermetically sealed,

a piece of strong'nonelastic material being 10 applied Within each endof the tubing and vulcanized in such position for a strong the personstrunk. 1

In testimonywhereof I aflix my slgnature.

WILLIAM E. ABBOTT;

